


Road to Gotham

by DDDemosthenes_1986



Series: Batman One-Shots [3]
Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Child Abuse, Damian Wayne Feels, Gen, Pre-Gotham, Protistution, The League of Assassins (DCU), mission
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-24
Updated: 2019-03-24
Packaged: 2019-12-07 01:15:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18227933
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DDDemosthenes_1986/pseuds/DDDemosthenes_1986
Summary: Damian is excited. He’s on the verge of completing his training and when he’s done, his mother has promised him a chance to meet his father.But Ra’s has one last test up his sleeve, to see if he is fit to uphold the Al Ghul name.Hint: It’s not gonna be pretty





	Road to Gotham

**Author's Note:**

> WARNING:  
> This chapter contains suicide, violence, death, and attempted protistution of a minor. Don’t be scared tho cause nothing actually happens, Damian is too pridefull for that anyways 
> 
> A user by the name of Thekotos gave me this prompt to write, so thank them cause I can’t make up story lines to save my life rip me :)
> 
> To the story, comrades!

Damian stood rigid, back straight and nose turned up, looking as if he did not have a care in the world. Which could really be farther from the truth. A drop of sweat made its way slowly down his face and he deeply hoped no one had seen noticed it. 

 

"Damian, my grandson, now that you have bested your mother in battle and have completed all of your recent studies, we will begin the last vital part of your training." The older man in front of him began, his bright green eyes looked seriously down at him. 

 

This was really a momentous time in his life here at the league, mother had promised him once he had won against her in a duel he could finally meet his father or he should have. He discretely looked around noting that no one but them were in the room, if this was such an important moment why wasn't the rest of family here to celebrate.

 

He swallows as he realized his time here wasn't over, his dream of meeting his father being pushed back again.

 

His thoughts were pushed out of his head as a a knock sounded on the door. "Ahh that must be your new instructor." His grandfather stood and went to open the door, revealing a tall mysterious looking woman with her hair in a tight bun on top of her head and a pair of frozen ice blue eyes. Her cold eyes raked his form up and down before she scoffed and turned back to his grandfather. "This is is my... student?" She said, disgust clear in her Russian accented voice. 

 

Ra's nodded and lead her further inside his office, both of them ignoring the child standing in front of them as they took seats around the desk. Ra's behind and the lady in one of the two seats in front of him. 

 

As she sat down she looked around the room avoiding the boy's gaze. She raised her thin eyebrows and pursed her lip as Ra's said, "We will begin his training tomorrow at dawn. We would like him to have completed your... course in 4 weeks time. I hope you will be able to do this?" He looked at her in question and continued as she nodded, "Your room is being prepared as we speak, I have called you early to explain to the boy the manners of his new study." 

 

She raised her eyebrow in an aristocratic way, "You mean to say that you have not told the boy of our agreement?"

 

She scoffed lightly as Ra's nodded. He stood up and said, "I'll lead you to your new room. Damian, come." Damian gritted his teeth at being commanded about like an obedient dog but he followed anyways.

 

They walked quietly down the long hallway with open windows that let the cool breeze of the Middle East flow through the narrow candle light passage. 

 

They crept down many flights of stairs into the main rooming floor, which took Damian by great surprise. Only high level instructors, family of low status, and very important guests were given rooms on this level, it had some of the biggest rooms in his family's castle only below they're own family. Damian gave a curious glare at the rigid woman walking next to him. 

 

They reached a suite situated at the end of one of the many corridors, they went in to find it dressed in a simple fashion, which surprised the small boy even further. Grandfather usually wanted to show-off to famous or important guests by furnishing their guest rooms in lavish fabrics and pieces. For him to dress this room in such... plain fabrics seemed to contradict the giant suite. The boy's eyes narrowed in thought, so an important guest however not important enough for expensive decor? Or maybe an important... prisoner?

 

His question was answered when his grandfather slammed the woman to the wall by her throat. Damian tensed in shock and judging by the woman's eyes she seemed to be shocked as well.

 

"You will teach the boy, and teach him well. Remember our deal, you step one foot out of your line and I tarnish your whole reputation, understand?" His grandfather said to the gasping red faced woman in front of him. She nodded quickly, tears eyes showing her fear.

 

"Very well, I'll take my leave then," Ra's said, brushing off the none existent dust of his robes before striding out and closing the door. Damian looked down at the gasping woman on the ground. He saw her pain but did not know how to comfort her, so he thought he might as well just stay put.

 

He waited a couple of minutes for the prisoner to calm down and regain her breathe before starting, "My name is Damian Wayne and as you are my instructor, I wish to know yours."

 

The woman glared at him with her light blue eyes as she got up. She walked with shaky legs to the bed and sat there with her hands covering her face, completely ignoring his question. 

 

Damian scrunched his nose, he's had too much of being ignored for today, he was the next leader of the league and could not be treated with such unimportance.

 

"Are you deaf, prisoner? I asked for your name. I demand you tell me." He huffed. She flinched at the hard sound, he saw her glare at him again and straighten her back, as if trying to keep up her composure.

 

"My name is Valeria Ivanova and I was born in Pskov, Russia. There are you happy now, impatient child?" She grunted at him, they glared at each other for a moment.

 

"How dare you call me such a name! I am neither impatient nor a child," he yelled, a scowl deeply set on his face, "Now for the real question, what are you instructing me on exactly?"

 

At the question she looked up at him with a blank face, "Your grandfather has brought me here to teach you.... to teach you the art of a certain way of.... manipulation, it is very broad and can be achieved with or without... your body..."

 

The silence in the room now rang sharply in their ears, the woman, Ivanova as she said, squirmed uncertainly. Damian looked at her and scoffed, "You mean seduction, correct?"

 

She grimaced at the words but eventually nodded before saying, "Yes, it is. I'm quite sorry but your grandfather demanded I teach you, well I didn't really know who you were until earlier, how could he expect me to teach someone so young..." She grumbled, her accent getting thicker as her anxiousness rose. Her sharp features twisted with the look of disgust he saw earlier. 'Oh,' he thought, 'so it isn't me she was disgusted at but of my grandfather.'

 

"Tt. Well it does not matter if either of us wants it, if grandfather commands so, it will be done." Damian concluded, a blank look on his face which betrayed the turmoil of emotions he felt festering inside him. How could his grandfather ever think of teaching him such a perverse form? How would he be tested for excellence in the matter in the end? He could only shudder at the thought.

 

However it did not matter what he thought, he had had that motto rammed into him over the years by Ra's himself. If his grandfather demanded his perfection, it was his duty as an Al Ghul to do so.

 

'This would a very hard couple of weeks for me indeed,' he thought.

 

/////

 

Four weeks later Valeria Ivanova committed suicide via a stray weapon she had managed to swipe from one of the soldiers stationed outside her room. Seduction, the guard had reported to them.

 

Damian was the one who found her body in the early hours of the morning. Her dried maroon blood staining the sheets of the bed she layed on, her pale skin looked almost fake in the light of sunrise.

 

His face turned hard but he began to prepare the body. This was nothing new to him, to them. Prisoners took their life all the time at the league, trying to escape the endless torture the soldiers put them through. So did servants and assassins who thought that the stress of it all was too much. Damian could relate, it really was at times.

 

He took the sheets under her and wrapped them on top of her, cocooning her in. He looked at her body for a while, it might have been 1 minute or an hour, he doesn't quite remember really.

 

The still body wrapped in a mix of white and red seemed to bring forth an emotion in him, and he was glad, for the first time, that he was the only one here as he took a deep breath that shook as he called it forth and scrunched his eyes shut. He felt as if he was at a loss, had he done something perhaps? 

 

He shook his head clearing his head, emotions were weaknesses, his mother had told him. He had seen countless amounts of bodies, some in extremely more gruesome fashion but none had made him feel this way before.

 

He looked out the window towards the rising sun and walked out of the room.

 

Later that week, after the guards had disposed of the body, where he didn't know but dared not ask, his family celebrated the completion of all his studies.

 

Ra's raised his glass and said in a thundering voice, "To my loyal grandson, who has passed all his trainings in perfect style without a single mistake." His family raised their glasses up to the sky and toasted him. He bowed lowly in a polite way and thanked them.

 

"However," Ra's continued, "He must pass one more exam, to show that he has truly mastered the art he was last taught." Damian's stomach sank as he looked at his grandfathers glowing green eyes.

 

////

 

His test was to infiltrate a famous club in the slums of Akhim, Egypt. Many important individuals connected to drugs, slavery, mercenary work, weapons trading, and more congregated there often to make deals and negations with each other. 

 

Damian's job was to sniff out a particular man who frequented the club as he had recently tried to disobey his grandfather and ran. The man, Yaseer Gamal, took with him hundreds of weapons and drugs under his grandfathers nose. To say Ra's was angry was a serious understatement, he was downright furious when he informed the young assassin of his mission.

 

Damian swore to do his best, only because, even if did not care at all for the weapons or drugs taken, he would not want to be the cause of his grandfathers anger.

 

The catch of the mission, however, was that this 'club' was also an undercover brothel, known throughout to have dealt with human trafficking and underage workers and Gamal had a particular liking for underage boys. 

 

When Damian first read his mission file he almost gagged in repulsion. He was going to have to basically entice the man into his awaiting death. He hadn't even boarded the helicopter and he already despised both the man and this mission.

 

His mother and grandfather sent him off, and he arrived in the crowded city in less than 3 hours.

 

On the way there he sat sulking in his overly comfortable seat. Seriously it was too comfortable, if his mother was trying to make it up to him by giving him a nice mode of transportation, it wasn't working.

 

As he sat, he went over the things his teacher had taught him all those weeks ago. How to play into your victims deepest desire, how to find it and ultimately use it against them. How to position his body and behavior in an enticing way, even if his pride suffered every second of it. He did have to give it credit though, it got the job done fast and without struggle.

 

In that moment, he felt a yearning to go, to just leave. He didn't have a place he felt safe at, but he almost wanted to jump out of the aircraft and somehow fly to an island far away. 

 

He scoffed at the childish thought, this was his life, he had to get over it.

 

The airplane dropped him off on part of the desert close to the city as to not attract attention. He hopped off and made his way towards the city.

 

Damian looked sharply at the civilians waking around him and pulled the hood of his tattered robes down, trying to hide his facial features because while he might take after his mother his rounded face, fuller cheeks, and slightly wider eyes gave his parentage away.

 

He navigated around the city as much in ease as a local from having spent all that time planning his route and practicing over and over again. Even as he tried to walk as slowly as possible, he found himself outside the well disguised club. He took a deep breathe and went in.

 

The loud music rang loudly in his head and he gritted his teeth at the headache he could feel coming in. The bright strobe lighting flashed in his eyes as he stumbled around the place. He watched the unassuming locals dancing, unaware of the heinous acts taking place only a few floors up.

 

Damian glanced down at his watch, if his calculations were correct, as they always were, Shalash should be upstairs right now doing whatever disgusting creeps do.

 

He glanced to the right and found a hallway leading towards a stairwell, he sneaked around the corner walking briskly towards it. He looked behind him and as he did he ran into a giant man and fell back, he slowly looked up to see the scowling burly man in front of him.

 

"Hey, what are you doing out of your cage, pet? You really thought you had a chance of running away, hah." A guard yelled at him in Arabic, he smiled tauntingly. 

 

Damian knew at that moment it would probably be good to put up his act. He looked up at the man again with wide, tears eyes and said, "I-I'm sorry sir, please don't hurt me."

 

The man scuffed and looked at him with an expression of disgust, as if looking at him made him sick. The guard grabbed his forearm harshly, probably leaving bruises, and yanked him violently on his feet. He walked down the hallway and up the stairs, almost dragging the young assassin as he tried to match his stride.

 

The upstairs of the club didn't look all that different from the downstairs, only that now there were women dancing provocatively on a stage instead of a DJ, and the guest lounged about in sofas and chairs instead of dancing. They chatted amongst each other as men and women, who obviously worked or were forced to work in the brothel, threw themselves on them, touching their chests and giggling at the jokes they made.

 

Damian gulped and faltered, could he really do this?

 

The guard dragged him towards what looked like a room far away from all the action, far away from his mission. He needed to finish this mission as fast as possible so he could go home and try to forget everything that was happening.

 

He struggled against the iron grip of the Egyptian man in front of him. He needed to find Gamal not get like locked in a room but as much as he tried the hand on his arm wouldn't let up.

 

As they got closer to the door a fat man blocked their path, he looked wantingly down at him before glancing at the guard, "How about instead of locking this fine specimen up, why don't you give him to me for some... fun?" The man offered.

 

The guard scowled down at him before releasing him and pushing him towards the man. The man he now could clearly verify as Gamal, the man he had to kill. 

 

Damian hastily put up his act and whimpered softly and pressed his body towards Gamal, feigning fear.

 

"Aww it's ok, pet, daddy's not gonna let anybody hurt you but me alright?" Gamal said, laughing. Damian hid his expression of disgust before looking up and nodding.

 

"Good boy, now follow me." He beckoned and led them towards a large couch situated in the back of the room, far from curious eyes, Damian realized anxiously. They sat and Gamal began talking again.

 

"You're very pretty, pet. Such beautiful green eyes, such a pretty button nose. Mm, how old are you?" Gamal said smiling perversely. He leaned forward, his alcohol scented breath falling on Damian as he tried to lean backwards.

 

He thought desperately for a something to change the subject, "I r-really like your jacket, sir. It suits you very well." Damian said, cringing in his mind at such a foolish tactic.

 

But Gamal was a fool and fools loved to flaunt their egos. "Oh yes, this jacket costs 89,500 pounds (5,000~ USD). At first I could never afford stuff like this but you should now, pet, that your daddy's a real smart man." Gamal said pridefully, looking at a wall blankly with a smile on his face, imagining something.

 

Damian looked up at Gamal, who had wrapped his arm around his shoulders, innocently, "How so, sir?"

 

"Lets just say your daddy got lucky and got his hands on something very valuable, hehe," Gamal whispered, snickering.

 

"So do you have anymore of this 'valuable stuff', sir?"

 

"Ohoho, trying to get in on the good stuff too, ay pet? Yeah I do have a lot of that stuff left, I've only sold a bit and look at how rich I am now!"

 

His stomach twisted in anticipation, if he played his cards right he'd find out were his grandfathers valuables were. He discreetly swallowed and said, "Oh wow, you're so smart, sir." Damian fake giggled.

 

"Hehe, I sure am, aren't I baby?" Gamal said proudly, lighting a cigarette as Damian nodded at his question. He leaned more into the large body, which smelled disgustingly of sweat.

 

If he wanted to know where the drugs where and fast, he would need to suck up to Gamal a little bit more. Then he's finally be free from this hell-hole, even if he'd have to go to another hell-hole at the end called his home.

 

Damian put a shaky hand on Gamal chest and leaned closer, staring at him with big innocent eyes. "Sir, you're quite smart. Such valuable stuff, you must hide it real good." He whispered. He gagged inside a little, but he had to do this.

 

Gamal smirked down at him, "Your daddy sure did, doll. Got it all nice locked up down in the basement of the abandoned bank building in the outskirts of town, I even got me some guards to protect it, pretty nice, right pet?"

 

Bingo.

 

Finally.

 

Damian smiled a smile that was not fake for the first time that night, or month really. He could now dispose of Yaseer Gamal, tell Ra's where the location of the drugs and weapons were, and be on his merry way.

 

He bit his lip, Gamal's eyes immediately glanced at the action, "So, sir, why don't we, I don't know, go somewhere more private hmm?"

 

He smiled widely and laughed a deeply, "Oh I knew you were a good one from the start, doll. You got all the right ideas."

 

They stood up and the soon-to-be-dead man wrapped his arm tightly around Damian's shoulders and let him to one of the rooms the guard had been trying to lock him into. Gamal opened the door to a small room with red painted walls and a large bed, the things that had to have been done there made Damian scrunch up his nose.

 

He walked away from Gamal and shut the door, looking at him and smiling. Gamal smirked and sat down on the old bed.

 

Damian smiled sweetly and walked towards him and leaned down towards him, "This has been very nice, Mr.Gamal, but I'm ready for the real fun to begin."

 

The man on the bed smirked and put his hands on his waist but Damian continued, "My grandfather sends his utmost regards to you, sir." He said, smiling and moved a piece of hair on Gamal's forehead.

 

"And who would that be, pet?" Gamal said distractedly and pulled him closer. 

 

Damian leaned in near his ear, the smell of gel and sweat wafting from the man, and whispered harshly into his ears, "Ra's Al Ghul." He smiled a sweet smile. This was just too fun.

 

Gamal's face went white, his mouth dropping open making the cigarette that he had been smoking drop on the floor, his hands shook where they where on Damian's waist.

 

Damian stomped his foot on the lit cigarette that had fallen on the floor before turning to the frozen man in front of him, pouting, "Something wrong, sir?"

 

Gamal's breathing quickened and horror drew itself on his sweaty face. He tried to get up and run out of the door but Damian had already seen that coming. He tripped him as he got up, sending him sprawling on the floor and he looked up at the young assassin, shaking like a leaf, Damian quite liked the look on the older man. 

 

Damian stepped forward as Gamal scrambled backwards on the floor, his back coming in contact with the cold wood of the door. Damian looked down at him below, no longer hiding his expression of revulsion and he looked down at him as if he were nothing more than a disgusting rodent under his foot.

 

"P-Please, I-I'll do anything, I can give you a-anything you want, I can give you money, j-just- please." Gamal pleaded, weakly. 

 

Damian had been fighting off an emotion this whole time and just now he'd been able to identify it, sick glee. He liked it, his victims under him, pleading to him. He cursed Ra's for turning him to this, to a monster. But now, just this once, he'd let himself indulge in it.

 

"Beg." He said coldly, an expressionless face stared sharply down at the shaking man.

 

"W-What?"

 

"I said beg." He gritted out, putting his foot on the older man's throat and sinked in. Gamal flailed under his foot as his oxygen depleted.

 

"Ok ok! Please, please, I'll do anything, don't kill, I'm begging you, doll." He cried and wheezed, fat tears rolling down his dark face.

 

Damian scowled at the name and narrowed his glowing eyes, stepping down harder on Gamal's esophagus, not letting him breath.

 

The thief struggled for air under him, "Sir. You will address me as sir, understand?"

 

Gamal nodded quickly, full out weeping on the dirty carpet floor. “Please, s-sir, please have mercy.”

 

The power of being the one to hold someone life in your hands was really starting to get to him. This was the first time he had ever been in complete control. And it was addicting

 

Damian scowled at himself, he couldn’t let this get to his head. It was his duty to complete this mission quickly and efficiently.

 

But he’ll let himself enjoy his for a little bit more.

 

Damian looked at the Egyptian man, feigning thought. He saw the hope arise in his wet eyes and said, “Tsk alright.”

 

“Oh thank you, oh god, thank you.” 

 

Damian stared at him for a while, and silence filled the room. The traitor hesitantly got up, looking at him wearily, and as he saw no interference, he sighed in relief. 

 

He made his way to the door but Damian speaking stopped him, “Actually I change my mind.” He took out a knife that he had hidden under his clothes and plunged into Gamal’s chest.

 

Gamal looked at him in shock and slowly looked at the sword inside him and made a wheezing sound. His eyes fought to stay open and he started coughing, blood going down his chin.

 

Blood pooled quickly on the floor below them, and Damian scowled as it stained his shoes. He took out his knife and Gamal’s dead body thumped loudly on the ground, he stared at it with empty eyes and scoffed. 

 

Damian swiped his weapon clean on the bed’s sheets and rushed outside, quietly closing the door behind him.

 

He didn’t have a place to hide the body and it didn’t really matter, his grandfather asked for a swift kill and information on stolen items, not stealth.

 

He tensely glanced around for people eyeing him with suspicion and sighed thankfully as he saw that no one had payed attention to him.

 

He rushed outside, he gave it at least an hour before the staff opened the room and found Gamal’s corpse. He jumped silently down the stairs and stopped to look out for guards.

 

And just like that he rushed out of the loud building to an alleyway nearby. 

 

He took out an old phone and put in a number, it rang and a voice came out.

 

“The mission has been completed.”

 

“Yes, mother, the traitor is dead and the stolen items are in an abandoned bank building in the outskirts of the town.

 

“Good, the helicopter will pick you up in 30 minutes at the place it dropped you off.”

 

“Very well.”

 

He hung up and proceeded to make his way to the designated spot.

 

30 minutes later he got on the helicopter, looking down at the mob of people and outside the club and police trying to keep the curious locals out.

 

He looked away and sighed, resting his head on the headrest behind him. He closed his eyes, now he could finally rest.

 

///

 

Damian stood with his back straight and chin up, just like how he was taught, in front of his grandfather.

 

Ra’s gave him a fake smile and said, ”Ibn al Xu'ffasch, my grandson, future leader of our glorious league, I am proud to announce that your training has ended!” The hundreds of people in room all clapped politely and whooped (not so politely).

 

As he scanned the crowd around him, he saw many familiar faces, his cousin Mara Al Ghul with the infamous red streak in her hair. She scowled at him before she huffed and looked away, pouting. He had completed his training before her and smirked at her mockingly, she growled.

 

His aunt, Nyassa Al Ghul, who looked at him with cold indifference and sneered, she had always been jealous that his mother was (not so) secretly father’s favorite and she had always been mad that his mother had him first, the first grandson of her father.

 

He looked to his left and saw his uncle, Dusan Al Ghul, his white hair made him pop out in the room full of dark colored hair and he seemed to know that, he looked as if he was trying to fold in himself and make himself invisible. He caught Damian’s eyes and gave a hesitant respectful smile before looking down again.

 

He looked in front and saw his mother, standing next to his grandfather, looking at him proudly with a rare smile painted on her face. She looked beautiful in the light of the sunset, and his chest filled with a warm feeling as he gazed into her soft eyes. How he wished his mother would act and look this kindly towards him always.

 

Lady Shiva had also come, looking at him with respect and he puffed his chest out some more, looking back at his grandfather.

 

“Now that you have mastered your training, you will not only be able to take up league missions but, by request of your mother, you will be able to meet your father.” Ra’s’ voice thundered throughout the hall.

 

“Will you swear to uphold the name of your family, will promise to give your full obedience to the league and cooperate with its members, will you swear to never betray it, do you promise, my grandson?” The head asked.

 

Damian bowed deeply and said, “I swear on our name, great leader.” 

 

And as the loud claps filled his ears, he smirked mischievously.

 

Gotham wouldn’t know what hit them.

**Author's Note:**

> Can you believe this freaking story is over 4700 words long? Augh like I seriously need to chill
> 
> Why do I do this? Why do I torture myself this way? It’s because I love you, my wonderful readers, please love me back (ಥ ͜ʖಥ)
> 
> This freaking story took me like a week to write so if it seems hasty sorry that was me trying to rush out of it ;(
> 
> PLEASE comment and check out my other stories!!! If you have any prompts you’re interested in, just tell me below :)
> 
> Anyways hoped you enjoyed!


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